Psalm 27:13 says “I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the living.” I was able to see the goodness of the Lord in this land today. I know that our Father holds orphans and widows so close to His heart, I now know why. I had the privilege of spending the entire day with some wonderful women who have gone through some difficult things in life. In Nepal when a women’s husband dies there are all sorts of restrictions placed on them. Because of the superstitions of the Hindu culture they can’t eat good foods or wear bright colored clothing (which signifies beauty for the Nepali women) and most get their property and possessions taken away. They are treated poorly and seen as inauspicious. It is difficult to live in this country; it is extremely difficult as a widow. There are not many ways she can help her family survive. A lot of the children become what they call “orphans” and don’t get an education because the mother can’t afford it. The director of the Pratiksha Home to widows told me her story. She has been a widow for 15 years, two years after becoming widowed she accepted Jesus into her heart and she explained how Jesus began to heal the many wounds of her past. Now she brings newly widowed women into her home, gives them vocational training in tailoring and hand-crafts, and feeds their spiritual growth. Psalm 68:5 says that God is “a father to the fatherless, a defender of the widows.” And Jeremiah 49:11 says “let your widows trust in Me.” I am experiencing this first hand and am inspired too see the Lord's care and concern for those that are suffering. Isaiah 61 says that He will give them beauty for ashes. I see Jesus turning broken, forgotten lives (ashes) into beautiful witnesses for His Glory. He is slowly restoring these women’s lives, making them whole again, able to stand on their own two feet and make a life for their children. This society thinks that a widow is bad luck, an annoyance....Jesus sees them as precious and valuable. We started our day with praise songs and prayer. Like I said before…these women know how to pray! We shared in the goodness of the Lord and broke bread together. We even had an offering to help raise funds to purchase raw supplies for the crafts these women make to earn an income. As I watched the women put in their coins and what little they had, I couldn’t help but think of the poor widow in Luke 21. This widow “out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.” They are teaching me what it looks like to be “poor in spirit.” We spent the afternoon rolling yarn and laughing together. Even though we didn't speak the same verbal language, our hearts were communicating. I will never forget this smiles on these beautiful faces.
Yesterday morning I was able to attend the international church with the family. I can’t even tell you how refreshing it was to sing worship songs in English and fellowship with a body of believers. I was reminded that my first duty is to keep my eyes on the Lord and remember to spend intimate time with Him. I know we all have tendencies to be a Martha and want to just serve, serve, serve instead of just sitting at Jesus’ feet. I can see how that would be an easy trap to fall into while doing full-time ministry overseas. Thankfully the Lord’s gentle reminder brought me back to the Cross. In the afternoon I attended the youth group gathering for 12-14 year olds. We played games, I shared a message and then we had some homemade cupcakes. Those were amazing!!!! It reminded me of being in youth group back home. Miss you guys by the way.
Some of the beautiful women at the home, their smiles lit up the room! (All these women are actually in their 30's)
This is what we ate for lunch...I thought I would share a picture of the food (this is actually an Indian curry...it was tasty!)
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